Footy Ferns at Tokyo 2020: Defeat Against Australia
Let’s be honest here, the Aussie game was the Football Ferns’ best chance to win a game at these Olympic Games. Let’s also be honest and admit that we knew full well that this was a terrible draw for the ladies and that this was how it was always likely to go. This defeat wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before from the Ferns, they’re good enough to be competitive on their day against decent teams but things have gotta break right for that to happen. We don’t have the money that other nations have. We don’t have a single professional team in the country. We know these things. We’re always the underdogs at these events.
So nothing to get all bummed out about with a loss to Australia. It doesn’t discredit anyone, we just got beaten by a better team. Aussie had been on a downer lately, losing four outta five games in 2021 before this, but they’ve been getting better under Tony Gustavsson. Compared to the Ferns who’ve had bugger all match preparation – one closed-door friendly against Great Britain breaking a 16 month drought. Meanwhile before our game kicked off Sweden went and pumped the world champion USA team 3-0 in the other match in the group so the task only gets more difficult from here. But again: the Ferns weren’t exactly poised to spring an upset in Tokyo. You can’t expect an outcome, then get all upset when it happens. Gotta be realistic, right?
With all that in mind, that was still a disappointing game. Tom Sermanni sprung a predictable line-up, rolling out a back three as has been the trend since the World Cup. Bit of a tweak with three up front and that was perhaps a debating point but a wingback formation is definitely the way to go for the Ferns. Gets more of our best players into the line-up (since they’re mostly defenders) and it allows us to get those wide defenders into attacking areas easier. Erin Nayler in goal. CJ Bott and Ali Riley as those wingbacks. A back trio of Meikayla Moore, Abby Erceg, and Anna Green. Ria Percival and Katie Bowen in midfield. Olivia Chance and Betsy Hassett flanking Hannah Wilkinson. Only one of those was even remotely up for grabs and that was Anna Green starting ahead of Claudia Bunge but Green’s experience and her left foot were fair tipping points in that scenario.
For about ten minutes things looked decent. An Australian team with all the usual intimidating candidates seemed shaky when we could put a little pressure on the ball... but the Ferns had clearly set up to mostly play out of possession (for obvious reasons) and a touch of hesitancy kept them from taking advantage before the Matildas could get their sea legs. Then by that point it was too late. Aussie figured out where their outlets were, working quick switches and playing at a high tempo. Sam Kerr’s movement across our backline was too ruthless to keep up with. The dual-DMs of Bowen and Percival were being dragged all over. The offside flag helped once or twice but anytime they could get runners in behind our defence it looked like the danger zone.
One goal was conceded, then another. No need for post-mortems because both were inevitable one way or another. Nayler did get a glove to both but wasn’t able to keep either from crossing the line. It was good value for the way that the Matildas were playing and honestly they could, perhaps even should, have bagged a couple more along the way.
What was disappointing though was how we’d begun with an intent to knock the ball around and build up our possessions, working some sneaky triangles, but by about twenty-odd mins in it was shellshock and long balls. The passing wasn’t quick enough through the lines to avoid pressure so we got stuck in corners having to pump it deep for nobody. To make matters worse, there was a lack of precision in our touches which was inviting more trouble and then we couldn’t even fall back on winning the physical battles either because other than Abby Erceg that just wasn’t happening.
Sidebar to talk about Abby Erceg: she was the best on the park yet again for the Ferns as she has been in so many of her 130+ caps. A couple of those sliding blocks/tackles on Sam Kerr were nothing short of superb. All the legendary status that is given to Winston Reid for the men’s team, how he plays and how he leads and what he’s achieved, that all applies equally to Erceg. Keep that in mind because the contrasting trajectories of the men’s and women’s teams in Tokyo won’t necessarily offer the same opportunities to talk about it.
This is where the formation got in the way because the stretched forward line didn’t help. We weren’t good enough to work the ball into those areas – looking at the team lining up Liv Chance was probably the player we most needed to get involved if we were gonna create much and she barely touched the ball. Kinda reckon it would’ve been better with Hassett playing closer to Wilkinson and Chance in a midfield trio, that way we get more coverage through the centre and can filter them wide and bank on the likes of Erceg and Moore to repel any crosses.
But honestly the better team won, what more can ya say? It’s most likely gonna be that way in all three of our games and overreacting to this or any defeat is a good indication of dumbassery. The Ferns improved notably in the second half, albeit without offering much of a threat up front. Erin Nayler made a couple ripper saves and the defence looked much sturdier. With a tad over twenty minutes left Sermanni changed the formation to go to four at the back with Daisy Cleverley and Paige Satchell coming on. Katie Bowen went to right back with DC in the middle. CJ Bott moved into right midfield. Satchell went up front with Wilkinson. Chance and Green were the ones replaced.
Maybe if we’d been able to win a few more set pieces. There are some great dead ball artists in this group in the likes of Percival, Bowen, Chance, etc. Abby Erceg is a monster on the end of a good set piece cross while Wilkinson and Moore are also valid targets. But we only won one corner kick and a handful of deep free kicks. A Bowen free kick in the 78th was the best bet and that ended with Erceg conceding a foul.
Then on came Gabi Rennie and she scored with her first touch in international football as Wilkie put in a great cross which Percival nodded across and then Rennie did the rest with a slick instinctual flick of the head.
Too late to muster another attack which might have caused some panic but it did make you realise that after all that we were only 2-1 down. Had that goal come ten minutes earlier then we might have had an almighty snatch-and-grab potential on our hands. At the World Cup it took until ten minutes to play in the third game for the Ferns to score and even then it was an own goal. This banger wasn’t enough to get anything from the match but it was a very welcome boost considering there are two more matches to follow. Some good vibes to keep things ticking. A great Olympic Moment that nothing else is gonna take away. And a result a lot closer than the performance suggested which is surely a positive sign.
Absolutely love it from Rennie too who is exactly the type of player that New Zealand needs to be developing. She’s a goal-scoring striker who is both mobile and strong. Outstanding for Canterbury Pride in the last Premiership season, including scoring twice in the final, and now doing the same for Indiana University. And in a funky twist her brother is a cameraman for one of the kiwi news outlets so even in a spectator-less Olympics she still had one family member there to cheer for her.
The focus now moves to America. It wasn’t just that they lost 3-0 to Sweden, it’s that the score was in no way flattering. That was the shocking thing. Sweden absolutely owned them. A 44-game unbeaten streak annihilated in a flurry of yellow and blue. Obviously only a mad person would pick New Zealand to do something similar but you never know. The pressure is on this USA team. They absolutely have to win. They probably will too, and handily... but let’s say we hold them out for twenty minutes. Then thirty. Then ‘til half-time. Then it’s still 0-0 after sixty... how would the USAWNT (scrabble score of of 27 if you can plunk it on a triple word) react to that? Because we’ve got nothing to lose. We expected to go out in the group stage. But the Americans expected to win. Just chucking that one up for hypotheticals, gotta keep this Fernies tour in its proper context after all.
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